Insanity
by isis-sg1
Summary: Tony goes undercover without back up, in a place where nothing is as it seems
1. Chapter 1

Here it is! My new story, Hope you like it and if you do don't forget to review. Hope this liked as much as my other story Blackout.

* * *

Gibbs sighed and rubbed his forehead as his computer asked for something he didn't even know existed. He pressed a couple of random keys, hoping they would fix the problem, but ended up making it worse. He looked up and opened his mouth, ready to order the youngest agent on his team, McGee, to fix the problem, but stopped when he saw the empty desk. Remembering it was a Sunday, and therefore not a workday for the team, he closed his mouth and dropped his head towards his work.

He normally liked his Sundays off to work on his boat and have dinner with a red headed friend, but with a mountain of detested paperwork piling up on his desk and a mysterious phone call from his old flame - and present boss - asking for an appearance at work, it seemed like his boat and dinner would have to wait. An earlier call from Director Shepard's secretary informed him she would call again when Jenny needed him. There was one thing he hated more than paperwork, and that was waiting.

He took a gulp of his coffee and searched the computer for the elusive reset button. He smiled triumphantly when the small indistinguishable button was found and he quickly pressed it. As the computer reloaded, he turned to the lesser of two evils. He began flicking through his team's reports but was promptly interrupted by the ringing of his desk phone.

"Gibbs," he barked down the phone. "I'll be right up," he replied to the trembling wreck of a secretary temp. He put the phone down, pushed his chair away and stood up, feeling the bones in his back click as he stretched out. He picked up his coffee cup and turned to the stairs. He easily ascended the staircase and walked the few steps needed to reach the Director's outer office where the secretary sat waiting for him.

"You can g-go right in S-special Agent Gibbs," the woman stuttered at Gibbs' intimidating presence. He walked past her and through the double doors, into the

spacious office which held extra room for a conference table and a couple of large fake plants. Sitting at the conference table was the director and another woman, her back facing Gibbs.

"Director," he greeted.

"Special Agent Gibbs," she replied. "Close the door please?" He turned and shut the door with a click. "Please sit down."

Gibbs chose a chair and slid into it in one fluid motion. Once sat down, the woman turned to face him. He recognized her immediately. His team might joke about his eyesight but his memory was still as sharp as a tack.

"Mrs West," he greeted with a nod.

"Special Agent Gibbs, please, call me Mary," the small woman responded.

"What can we do for you Mary?" he asked. The woman wrung her hands nervously and her tired eyes said more than any words could.

"It's been four years," she explained. Gibbs knew that, but he stayed silent, letting the woman finish what she had come here to say. "I know it's a lot to ask from you, after all you've already done for me and my husband, but time's become an issue." Mary's eyes flicked up to meet Gibbs' ice blue ones. "My husband is dying Agent Gibbs." Mary's face creased up and a single tear rolled down her pale cheek. "The doctors have given him less than a month."

"I'm sorry."

"Thank you, Agent Gibbs." Jenny passed Mary a tissue. They waited as Mary West blew her nose. "He doesn't want to go without knowing… and it tears me apart that things have to happen this way. But he needs closure, we both need closure." Again Mary's eyes met Gibbs'. "Please find my daughter, Agent Gibbs."


	2. Chapter 2

The loud incessant shrill of Tony's cell phone wasn't what he wanted to wake up to, but having a boss like his he was used to the unwanted wake up calls. One hand slipped out from under the warm cover and fumbled blindly for the offending object. Once found, he deftly flipped the phone open and pulled it back under the covers where his head lay.

"DiNozzo," he answered with a sleepy sigh.

"Get your lazy ass out of bed and into work DiNozzo, we have work to do."

"Sure, Boss," he replied automatically as his brain tried to wake up properly. He didn't wait for a goodbye as he flipped the phone shut again and threw it haphazardly onto the bedroom floor. He gave himself a minute before flinging the covers off his face and opening his eyes, wincing as the bright light from the open curtains, hurt them. "Jeez," he muttered. He heard a small moan from beside him and he instantly looked over and smiled. The soft feminine curves of his latest conquest lay beside him, half covered by a sheet. He leant down and kissed a bare shoulder.

"It's early," she whispered.

"Sorry babe, duty calls." The woman snorted. Tony rolled his eyes in her direction before slipping out from between the sheets. "Sleep in as long as you want, I probably won't be back till very late."

"Poor baby," she replied, her eyes still shut firmly and her voice anything but sincere. Tony put on a pair of boxers then dug into his wardrobe for a suit. He picked out a matching shirt and tie with ease and got dressed in silence. Once fully dressed, he walked over to his bedside table. He unlocked the top drawer and pulled out his badge and gun, c clipping them to his belt. He picked up his discarded phone and dropped it into a trouser pocket. He took one last look in his full-length mirror, giving his hair a touch up, before walking over to the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed and leant over, kissing the woman goodbye.

"I'll call ya," he spoke before disappearing out of the room.

The elevator signalled its arrival with a single ding, the doors sliding open, revealing a much more awake Tony. He flung his backpack underneath his desk and dropped heavily into his chair. He lived nearer to work than his team mates so he wasn't surprised to find that he was the first one in. He flicked the on button on his computer before sticking his feet up on the desk, sinking further into the chair. After five minutes of alone time, the elevator dinged again. Tony looked up and greeted the younger agent with a grim frown.

"I hope Gibbs has a good reason for this," he spoke. "I was in bed with a hot naked woman who, I might add, is still there."

McGee handed a cup of coffee to Tony before walking to his own desk. "Too much information, DiNozzo."

"Way too much information, DiNozzo," a third voice joined in. Gibbs picked up Tony's feet as he walked past and unceremoniously dropped them onto the floor with a loud thud. Gibbs walked to his desk and slid into his own chair. "Where's David?" he asked as he noticed the empty seat were the Mossad officer should be.

"Here," she answered for herself as she breezed into the squad room. As she sat down, ready to work, Tony asked the question that was on all their minds.

"What are we doing here, Boss?" Gibbs stood up and threw a plain brown file at Tony like a Frisbee. Tony caught it against his chest, holding it tightly to stop anything from falling out of it. Tony opened the file and frowned.

"The Lucy West case?" he questioned.

"Wait, who's Lucy West?" McGee joined in.

"Lucy was the daughter of Navy captain Neil West. She disappeared four years ago," Tony explained.

"Well remembered," Gibbs commended.

"It's all here in the file, Boss. I don't really remember much of the case."

"You don't?" Ziva asked.

"I was just a newbie then, just came off training. I was only doing desk work until my credentials came through," he answered, reading the file as he spoke.

Ziva snorted. "You were a probie!"

Tony's eyes flicked up and fixed onto Ziva. "Once upon a time," he defended.

"Why is the case file here now?" McGee asked.

"The investigation is being re-opened," Gibbs replied.

"Why?" Ziva enquired, raising an eyebrow at Gibbs.

"Lucy West was never found," Tony spoke up.

"So what makes you think you can find her now?" Ziva still didn't know why they were being put on a cold case.

"We don't plan on finding her alive do we, Boss?" Gibbs shook his head at Tony's question.

"A man admitted to the murder at the time of the investigation."

Ziva was even more confused. "So why didn't he just tell you where the body was?"

"Because, Ziva," Gibbs began, "the man who killed Lucy West was insane."

"Insane?"

"Crazy, nuts, doo-lally, mad, psycho, barmy, loony, mental, three fries short of a happy meal, wacko-"

"I think she gets the idea, DiNozzo," Gibbs jumped in before Tony could go any further. "The point is, Kevin Wickson is locked away in Reedville Sanatorium. The doctors there aren't going to give him to us, and even if they did, there's no way that Kevin would give up the information easily; he's a deluded psychopath with nothing to lose."

"So, what do you want us to do?" Ziva asked.

"Find a way to get the information outta him," Gibbs ordered before marching off.


	3. Chapter 3

okay - i'm making it clear now that this fic is set in 2006 - Lucy West went missing four years ago in 2002 which i'm saying is Tony's first year working at NCIS - it might not be perfect timing but that's what i'm going with.

* * *

"Okay, what do we know so far?" Ziva asked her team-mates. Tony stood up, picked up the clicker and pointed it at the TV screen. As he did, a picture of Lucy West appeared on the screen. The group had never seen anyone so beautiful. Her long blonde hair fell over her shoulders and landed perfectly without a hair out of place. Her full rosy lips held so much suggestion that it was easy to forget she was barely twenty when she went missing, and her round blue eyes shone like sapphires. Even from just a picture they seemed to draw you in. 

"Twenty year old Lucy West disappeared January seventeenth, 2002," he informed the group. McGee stood up and joined Tony by the screen.

"She told her parents she was spending some time with friends upstate, they filed a report when she never returned," McGee added, glad to have something to input.

"The friends?" Ziva asked.

"Non existent," McGee answered with a shake of his head. "No-one knows where she was before she disappeared."

"So how did Kevin Wickson enter the portrait?" Ziva questioned again.

"It's picture and that's the mystery," Tony explained.

Ziva frowned. "The picture is the mystery?"

"No, Kevin Wickson is. From everything Gibbs and his team found out four years ago, Kevin and Lucy had no connection at all."

"They had never met?" McGee queried.

Tony shook his head. "Nope; in fact, Kevin was at Reedville at the time."

"How'd he get convicted then?"

"Walked into the infirmary at Reedville and confessed. DNA from skin cells under his nails matched Lucy's."

"He went from a non dangerous patient to a psychopath in one day," McGee surmised.

"You got it. He never went to trial, they just placed him on a more secure ward."

"And Gibbs thinks Kevin knows where Lucy's body is."

"I don't think so, I know so McGee!" Gibbs strode round the corner and joined the group, the ever present cup of coffee steaming in his right hand.

"How do you suggest we get it out of him, Boss?" Tony asked.

"Leave me alone with him, I'll soon get it out of him," Ziva spoke, her voice soft but her eyes flaring with a hidden menace.

Gibbs turned to face Ziva, stepping into her comfort zone. "Psycho's like Kevin don't work like normal people. He's sick and twisted and would laugh in the face of an authority figure. I doubt even you could get anything out of him, Ziva."

"Er, Boss?" Tony interrupted the stare-off.

Gibbs spun with precision and faced Tony. "What?" he barked.

"I think I have an idea," Tony replied as he stared at the photo of Kevin that rested in his hands. Gibbs' eyes narrowed at Tony's vague statement. Slowly, Tony's eyes lifted and he stared at the group in front of him. "Someone's going to have to be admitted to Reedville sanatorium," he clarified.

Gibbs stepped up to Tony. "Who do you suggest?" Tony kept his eyes firm with resolve, answering Gibbs' question. "Do you realise what you'll be going in to?" he asked. Tony nodded. Gibbs gave this new idea a moment's thought. He didn't like the idea of sending one of his agents into such an environment where he would be without an earpiece or microphone; without back up sixty seconds away if he was in trouble, and definitely without his gun for protection.

"I can do this," Tony spoke quietly so only Gibbs could hear him.

After a moment, Gibbs nodded. "Set it up."


	4. Chapter 4

Forgot to mention last chapter - To O'NeillRocMyWorld - yes i am a huge stargate fan

(just had to get that little reference in ;) )

* * *

Gibbs stopped the van just outside the main gates and turned off the engine. Quiet enveloped the pair sitting side by side.

"You can back out now," Gibbs spoke, giving Tony one last chance to forget the plan. It's not that he wanted Tony to back down and have the plan fail, but even he would be having second thoughts about a task like this.

Tony kept his eyes down. "You know I can't." He lifted his head, unclipped his badge and gun and handed them to Gibbs.

"Okay." Gibbs took the gun and badge and placed them in the glove compartment. . "Reedville was informed that a dangerous prisoner was being transferred for evaluation, we won't tell them otherwise unless the situation calls for it." Tony nodded. "We'll try and stay as close as possible, but without a panic button or wig and mic, you're going to be on your own."

"I know."

"Do not let you guard down for one second in there, you hear me?" Gibbs ordered.

"I hear ya, Boss."

Tony and Gibbs stepped out of their respective doors and moved around to the back of the van. Gibbs opened the outer door and then unlocked the inner steel cage door. On the bench lay a pair of handcuffs and ankle cuffs. Tony ducked his head as he stepped up into the dark containment cell. He sat down on the bench and, with a resigned sigh, cuffed his ankles together. Tony clenched his fists and pushed them together, holding his wrists out to Gibbs. Gibbs picked up the handcuffs and snapped them onto Tony's wrists. Once Tony was settled, Gibbs shut the steel door, locked it, and then shut the main van door, sending Tony into complete darkness. Tony heard the engine start again and was jolted in his seat as the van began to move.

Tony felt the van lurch to a stop. He didn't have to wait for long before the doors were opened. His eyes acclimatised quickly to the bright light.

"This him?" A stranger spoke.

"It is," Tony heard Gibbs reply. The cage door was opened and Tony got a good look at the stranger. The woman stood just below Gibbs' in height and was thinner than a broom. Her long flat hair lay in a limp ponytail and her narrow eyes watched Tony at all times. She raised an eyebrow and placed her bony arms on her non-existent waist.

"He doesn't look that dangerous."

"That's because we gave him a mild sedative for the journey, Miss Hiskett," Gibbs replied.

"Hmm, not bad looking for a crazy guy." Tony nearly flirted back, but with one covert glare from Gibbs he suppressed the urge. Instead he growled at the woman and with a deadpan face he spoke, "Woof."

"Yes, well." The woman didn't seem fazed, but, then again, when you worked in a mental asylum there probably wasn't much that you hadn't already seen. "What did he do?"

"Killed a guy," Gibbs replied.

"Then why isn't he in a prison?" she asked, obviously unimpressed with Gibbs.

"He was just about to eat the guy's foot when we burst down the door." Tony didn't remember that being part of the cover story, but he could work with that. Looking the woman in the eyes, he licked his lips. She ignored it and immediately called over for a couple of burly men in scrubs to join them. They pulled Tony out of the van and each held an arm tightly. Tony struggled slightly to add to the performance then let them take him inside the building.

"He'll be placed in the secure ward for the first twenty four hours. He'll be assessed by our resident psychologist and will then be placed on a more permanent ward, depending on the psychologist's recommendation; though, from what you said, I don't believe he'll be leaving the secure ward," Miss Hiskett told Gibbs as they followed Tony and his escorts.

"I'll be staying nearby as he is still part of an on-going investigation."

"Very well." The woman dipped into her jacket pocket and pulled out a single rectangle card. "My private office number. I will be able to update you on his condition." Gibbs took the card and thrust it into a trouser pocket for safekeeping. He followed the woman into the building and up a flight of stairs. Once on the second floor, he tried to follow Tony further but was held back by Miss Hiskett. "This is as far as you can go," she told him. Gibbs looked up and watched from afar as a large metal door closed behind Tony, signalling the communications blackout.


	5. Chapter 5

Tony's eyes snapped open suddenly as he woke up. He didn't remember anything after being led into the building, so they must have put him to sleep. He took stock of his surroundings and quickly noticed a second bed identical to his own on the other side of the room. He relaxed slightly when he saw that it was empty. The plain brick walls had been painted a cool mint cream in an obvious attempt to calm the patients. The one window in the room sat high up on the wall and was covered by thick steel bars. Tony felt like he'd just stepped into a scene from _One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest_.

"I must be crazy to be in a loony bin like this," he muttered the quote from one of his favourite films.

He sat up and pushed the blanket off him. Looking down, he noticed someone had placed him in a pair of plain pajamas. He climbed out of the bed and hissed as his bare feet touched ice cold linoleum. He quickly found a pair of slippers under the bed and slipped them on. He took a few steps forward and found the main door ajar. The door was easily three inches thick. Hanging on the back of the door was a dressing gown. He shrugged it on and then opened the door with a large creak. He peered out into the long corridor before stepping out. The floor squeaked underneath his slippers and he breathed through his mouth to avoid smelling the easily distinguishable hospital smell that he despised. Further down the corridor was a nurses' station and a small sitting area where most of the patients seemed to be.

"Ah, Mr Gordon, I see that you are awake at last." Tony turned towards the voice with a glare. He still had to keep up the act of being nuts. "Don't bother trying anything, every nurse has a panic alarm with them at all times, this whole ward is covered with security cameras and is completely locked up. This is one of the securest wards in the hospital, you're not going anywhere." Tony's glare lessened and he stayed quiet, letting the nurse continue. "I'm Nurse Windsor, I will be administering all your medicine and I'm in charge around here." She pointed to the sitting area.

"You can sit there or you can sit in your room, your choice but that's the only choice you got around here. You will eat all your meals when told so, you will see the psychiatrist when told so and you will go to sleep when told so, no debates, no arguments, no compromise. Do you understand?" Tony nodded. "Good, you have a preliminary meeting with Dr Phillips, the resident psychiatrist in two hours. I suggest you use this time to get to know your fellow inmates." She nodded in the direction of the sitting area.

Tony walked into the open sitting area and sat down in one of the chairs facing the nurses' station. From there he had a better look at Nurse Windsor. The young woman leant against a work top, writing on a clip board. If Tony wasn't undercover he would be seriously pursuing the woman. Her blonde hair fell to her shoulders in 40's style curls, matching her ruby red lips and thick black lashes. Her standard nurse's uniform did nothing to hide a perfectly proportioned body that Tony spent his time admiring. His eyes fell to her slender legs and he whistled to himself. A little older than he normally liked, but he wasn't one to discriminate. When this was all over he was definitely coming back here. Tony turned and surveyed the room. Several of the men sat alone talking to themselves while others played board games together in total silence. His eyes froze as he saw a lone figure hunched up and staring out of another barred window. His dark shoulder length hair hid most of his face but Tony knew who it was.

"Kevin," he whispered. He checked the room once more, before standing up and moving towards Kevin. He reached for a nearby chair and dragged it closer so he could sit near the other man. Kevin made no movement to greet Tony in anyway or even recognise his presence, so Tony decided to break the ice.

"Hey," he spoke. "Couldn't help but notice you sitting on your own." Kevin said nothing. "Name's Tony, Tony Gordon, what's yours?" After a pause, Kevin answered, keeping his eyes firmly on the window.

"Kevin, Kevin rhymes with seven and heaven."

Tony sighed in relief at the break through. "Yes, yes it does."

"You're strange."

"Lots of people seem to think that, yes."

Kevin's head snapped towards Tony and his eyes narrowed. "I don't know you, you're strange."

"I'm just like you, Kevin, just another crazy guy."

"The world of madness is a lot bigger than the world of sane," Kevin spoke. "A lot bigger, bigger than this room, there's lots of crazy people in crazy places, you think they're sane but they're not."

"Why do you say that, Kevin?"

"You sound like _her_!"

"Who do I sound like, Kevin?"

"Her!"

"Who's her?"

"Her her her! You don't believe me? Cos I did it."

"Did what, Kevin?"

"Stop saying my name, you say it like them!"

"Who's them?"

"The ones in suits and they ask so many questions but I'm not allowed to answer, shhhhhh got to stay quiet," Kevin finished in a whisper.

"What did you do?" Tony whispered back.

Kevin never got a chance to answer as a chair was slammed down on Tony's back. Tony fell from the chair and rolled over. He jumped up and put himself into a defensive position. The unknown patient waved the chair at Tony and screamed. He threw the chair but Tony easily dodged out of the way. He charged at the larger man and brought him to the floor. The man fought back, punching Tony in the stomach. Tony grabbed the man's wrists and held them to the floor, using all his body weight to pacify the angry man.

Suddenly, he was grabbed from behind. The two male nurses from before grabbed an arm each and pulled Tony off the other man. Tony struggled to get free but the two men were too strong for him. He fought against them as they dragged him down another corridor and into a room. His eyes widened as he saw what was in the room and he fought harder, kicking out to stop them. They pushed Tony onto the bed and held him down while a third nurse tied restraints to each arm and each leg. The final restraint went around his neck.

"No, you got it all wrong!" he shouted at them, but they didn't listen. His eyes widened again as Nurse Windsor appeared in the doorway. She walked up to the bed with a large needle in her hand.

"Please listen," he pleaded with her, but she also ignored him. Nurse Windsor flicked the needle, pushed it to get rid of any air bubbles and slid it into Tony's arm. Seconds later Tony was asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

sorry it's been so long - I've been on holiday with no access to a computer. Hope this makes up for it.

Thank you to my beta Rinne for all the hard work!

* * *

"Special Agents Gibbs." Gibbs held up his badge to show at the front desk. "I'm here to see Miss Hiskett." The guard examined the badge before pointing down a corridor. "Thank you." Gibbs nodded at the guard and walked off. He passed several doors until he came to a door with Hiskett on the door. He knocked and waited for an answer. The door swung open moments later and the spindly woman greeted him with a slight smile. 

"Agent Gibbs, what can I do for you?" She opened the door further to let Gibbs into the room.

"I need to talk to Tony Gordon, some new evidence has come up and he needs to be questioned."

"I'm afraid that's going to be impossible, at least for another couple of hours."

Gibbs furrowed his eyebrows. "And why is that?" he asked as calmly as he could.

"There was a little bit of an incident here yesterday, he had to be restrained and sedated."

"What?"

"Yes, I have the report right here." Hiskett picked up a folder from the desk and opened it. "Tony got into a fight with another patient. The nurses had to restrain him from doing any damage to himself or others. Nurse Windsor thought it best to sedate him." She passed the file to Gibbs who re-read what she had just told him.

"Take me to him."

"Agent Gibbs, it's just not-"

"Take me to him," Gibbs ordered more forcefully. He needed to see that his agent was all right.

Hiskett hesitated for a minute before conceding. "Very well, this way."

She led him out of the office, up the stairs and towards the secure ward. At the door, she swiped her pass card and entered in a five digit code and the door opened with a loud beep. She closed the door behind them, then led him up another corridor to the last door on the right.

"He's in here."

She swiped her card again and the door opened. Gibbs did everything he could to hide how shocked he was at Tony's treatment. Although it looked like Tony was waking up, he was far from lucid. He struggled in vain against the restraints, having hardly any energy to do any real damage. He could see red marks on Tony's skin where the restraints had scratched him. Tony's head lolled from side to side in a futile attempt to get free.

"I'm not supposed to be here," Tony mumbled, barely coherent.

"Get him out of these restraints," Gibbs ordered. He wasn't going to stand here and watch Tony struggle like that when he could do something about it.

"Special Agent Gibbs, you said yourself, he's a dangerous criminal."

"No he's not, he's one of my agents undercover now untie him!" he shouted.

"What's going on in here?" Nurse Windsor appeared at the door.

"This man is a federal agent undercover, Nurse Windsor," Miss Hiskett explained, still trying to process the information herself. "He needs to be untied."

Nurse Windsor was equally shocked but, after a moment, stepped up to the bed and untied the restraints at each ankle, then both wrists and finally his neck. Tony calmed instantly when there was nothing holding him down. Nurse Windsor left quietly. Gibbs grabbed the plain wooden chair from beside the door and dragged it towards the bed. He sat down, waiting for the onslaught of questions that would come from Miss Hiskett.

"May I ask what one of your agents was doing undercover in my hospital without my knowledge?" she asked calmly.

"Research," Gibbs replied.

"Has there been some sort of complaint against us? Because I can assure you all our staff are specially trained and we are one of the best sanatoriums in the state."

"We're here for Kevin Wickson, Miss Hiskett, no-one else."

"What do you want with him?"

"He killed Lucy West."

"I'm well aware, Agent Gibbs."

"We're trying to find the body."

"The body? After all this time, surely you don't think you'll find it?"

"We have to try. Special Agent DiNozzo was here to get the location out of him, try being the operative word. Once he's fully lucid I want him back on the ward, he will be treated like any other patient and he will be given time away from the ward to report back to me."

"I don't think you are in any position to make demands, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs glared at the woman. He stood up. "I make a couple of calls and I can have this place shut down in less than an hour. You do as I ask and you can keep this place running." He held out his hand. "Do we have a deal?" After a moment Miss Hiskett, placed her hand inside Gibbs and they shook.

"Now, I'm going to stay here for a bit, do you have a problem with that?"

"No."

"Good, leave us."

Miss Hiskett, defeated easily by Gibbs, left the room. Gibbs sat back down and waited for Tony to slowly wake.


	7. Chapter 7

Tony calmed significantly as the drugs wore off and it was only another hour before he was lucid enough to speak to Gibbs. Tony lifted his hand and placed it on his forehead.

"Jeez, you'd think they'd invent a drug that didn't give you a killer headache," he spoke, keeping his eyes closed to the brightness in the room.

"How are you feeling?" Gibbs asked.

Tony opened one eye. "Were you not listening?" he snapped. Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, Boss, being tied up and knocked out tends to make me a little cranky"

"Understandable, what the hell happened?"

Tony sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He gripped the edges of the bed as the slight dizziness wore off. "Some wacko hit me over the head with a chair. I was only defending myself, Boss, I swear."

"I believe you."

"Good, cos no-one around here seemed to."

"I've told them the truth."

"Why?"

"Why do you think, DiNozzo!"

"Because of this?" Tony tugged on the restraints tied to the bed. "Trust me when I say being tied down to a bed and drugged up isn't my idea of fun at any age, but it's not going to impede the assignment. They untie you, send you back to your room, Gibbs, it's no big deal."

"Ok." Gibbs nodded. "How far did you get with Kevin?"

Tony snorted. "I have better chance of understanding McGee in geek-speak mode, but I made a connection. I'll talk to him again today."

* * *

"Hey, Kevin," Tony greeted as he entered Kevin's room. He'd been given a quick check up by a doctor as per regulations and then released. After a shower and change of clothes he'd searched all the rooms for Kevin and was glad that Kevin was alone. He didn't need to be interrupted again by some chair-wielding maniac. Inside the room, Kevin sat on his bed hunched over a journal, seemingly scribbling furiously with a black marker. Kevin didn't look up as Tony approached the bed and sat down on the edge. "How you doing?" 

"Same, same, always the same."

"That's good."

"They took you away."

"Yes, they did, but I'm back now."

"They take me away, but I don't remember where I go."

Tony frowned. "Do you remember any other places you've been to?"

Kevin nodded.

"Where else have you been?"

"Leather sofa, it's warm there, she lets me scribble."

"Anywhere else?"

Kevin stopped drawing and his head snapped towards Tony. He threw the pen at the wall and dropped the journal onto the floor. "What do you want with me?" he shouted.

Tony put his hands up in surrender. "I was just curious, Kevin, I want to be your friend." Kevin growled. "Here, let me help." Tony stood up and went over to where the pen had fallen. He picked it up and then picked up the journal.

"That's mine!" Kevin shouted, lunging off the bed and elbowing Tony in the face. Tony dropped to the floor, letting go of the journal in the process.

"I'm sorry!" Tony apologised. He stood up and took a couple of steps back from Kevin. "How about we start again?"

"Things can't start again, they only start once and they keep on going."

"Well, how about you just forgive me and we just carry on from where we left off," Tony tried. Kevin studied him for a minute before nodding. He picked up his notebook and landed back on the bed.

"So, what do you do for fun around here?" Tony asked once Kevin was settled.

"I draw."

"Yeah? What do you draw?"

"People."

"Can I see?" Kevin clutched the book to his chest and shook his head. "Please?" After a second, Kevin pulled the notebook away from his chest and opened the page to Tony. Tony eyed the drawings, noticing one in particular. "I like that one, does it have a name?"

Kevin trailed his fingers lightly against the drawing and smiled before answering.

"Lucy."


	8. Chapter 8

Tony stood alone by the barred window in the art room. It was supposed to bring out the creative sides of the patients and hopefully calm their spirits enough to stop them biting ears off and throwing chairs at people's heads. One wall held a built in bookshelf with hundreds of titles from _Moby Dick_ to _Harry Potter _while the other wall held shelves of musical instruments and painting materials. Tony hugged his arms closer to his body and shivered. The size of the room meant it was always cold. He heard the main door crash open and knew it could only be one person. He slowly turned around and leant against the window.

"If I wasn't crazy when I came in here, this place certainly makes you question that," he spoke. Gibbs closed the door and walked towards Tony. He ignored the sombre tone in Tony's voice.

"What have you found out?" As if a switch was flicked in Tony's mind he stood up straight and looked at Gibbs.

"Kevin definitely knew Lucy West, he's got drawings of her in his journal."

"Are you sure it's her?" Gibbs asked.

Tony gave Gibbs a looked saying _give me a little credit_."He calls them all Lucy."

"Okay, so how did they meet?"

"I think she was in here."

Gibbs frowned. "In Reedville? We checked the records four years ago, Tony, no Lucy West was ever admitted."

"No Lucy West was, but what if she admitted herself under a different name?"

"Why would she do that?"

"Her father is a Navy Captain, Gibbs, she didn't want to disgrace the family name or her father by admitting she had a problem."

"That's a pretty big assumption, DiNozzo."

"Well, get Ziva and McGee over here to go through the patient files; I can't do all the work myself." Gibbs cuffed the back of Tony's head. "What was that for?"

"For not telling me how you came to be sporting a black eye."

Tony touched the bruise tentatively. He had forgotten about his eye. "Kevin got a little angry at me, it was no bid deal."

Gibbs narrowed his eyes. "Nothing seems to be a big deal around here."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"_Being tied down to a bed and drugged up isn't my idea of fun at any age, but it's not going to impede the assignment. They untie you, send you back to your room, it's no big deal," _Gibbs quoted from the previous day.

"Jeez, what are you, a human Dictaphone?"

"It just stuck in my mind, DiNozzo, because the way you said it sounded like it wasn't your first time strapped to a bed like that," Gibbs answered intuitively.

"Well I must admit, a few of the girls I've been with have liked the kinkier side, you know handcuffs, silk ties-"

Gibbs hit him again. "Be serious, DiNozzo, have you or have you not been restrained and sedated before?" Gibbs shouted.

"Yes! Ok?" Tony turned away from Gibbs.

Gibbs voice softened. "When?"

"It doesn't matter," Tony mumbled.

"It matters to me."

Tony turned towards Gibbs but kept his eyes on the floor. He'd never spoken about it before and didn't think he could stand to see the look in Gibbs' eyes as he told him. "When I was ten."

"What happened?" Gibbs waited for Tony to speak, watching as the younger man rubbed at his wrists unconsciously, as if trying to free himself from invisible restraints.

"My father thought I was wrong in the head, so he sent me to one of these places for evaluation. First night in, and I had a panic attack; trapped in with a load of psychos away from your parents would do that to any ten year old. Anyway, they thought I was going to hurt myself so they tied me down and sedated me."

"Tony-" Gibbs was quickly interrupted.

"I got released immediately after seeing the shrink." Tony looked up at Gibbs "Turns out I had a lousy father who didn't realise I was just a ten year old boy playing games with his imaginary friend."

"You should have told me."

"Why?"

"I wouldn't have agreed to send you here, if I had known."

"Which is why I didn't tell you. McGee's still too green for this kind of undercover work Kevin would recognise you in a second and this is an all male ward."

"that doesn't change the fact that you purposely hid this from me "

"I have to get back to Kevin; I think I might go for a more straight forward approach this time, I mean what harm could he do? Elbow me in the eye again?" Tony tried to lighten the subject.

"DiNozzo."

"I don't let my past interfere with my job, Boss; I thought you knew me well enough to know that."

"I do."

"Then let me do my job," Tony pleaded. They couldn't exactly stop the investigation halfway and it would look too suspicious to introduce a different patient to befriend Kevin.

"Ok." Tony visibly sighed. Gibbs pulled something from his jacket pocket and handed it to Tony.

"What's this?" Tony took the object off Gibbs and studied it.

"Lucy West's diary. It was in with all the evidence from the case four years ago. I thought you could use it."

"To do what?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes "You'll think of something, DiNozzo."


	9. Chapter 9

McGee coughed for the fourth time in half an hour. Once the fit was over he gave Ziva a weary look. "I think I'm allergic to this much dust."

Ziva replied with a smirk. Gibbs had ordered them to go through the files to see if Tony's theory was right. That meant going over every file of every patient at Reedville in 2002. They'd been led into a large storage room at the back of the hospital where, it seemed, no-one ever went. Cobwebs filled the corners and a layer of dust an inch deep covered every available surface. Ziva looked down at McGee as she sat on the top of a ladder, passing the boxes down.

"Would you rather be doing Tony's job?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. She reached for another box and blew a cloud of dust into the air.

McGee shivered at the thought. "God no."

"Then I suggest we don't complain."

McGee took the last box off Ziva's hands and dropped it on the floor. He sat on the stone floor and opened the lid. He grabbed a handful of files and placed them on his lap.

"You think Tony's right?" he asked as he began searching the files, checking every photo against the one of Lucy West.

Ziva shrugged. "I think it is a strong possibility," she replied as she descended the ladder and joined McGee on the floor. "But Tony is not the one going through…oh, about a hundred files, is he, McGee."

"No, he's the one locked up on a ward with a load of dangerous wackos," McGee mumbled.

"My question is," Ziva began as she tossed a file in the checked stack, "why did Kevin kill Lucy?"

"He was crazy, Ziva, I don't think he needed a reason."

"Crazy people have motives too, their motives are maybe more trivial and petty but they don't kill for no reason. Kevin had no history of violent behaviour, it says so in his file."

"Maybe something in him changed, a trigger."

"Gibbs'll find out, he's talking to the psychiatrist right now."

McGee smirked. "Bet Gibbs is loving that; he hates shrinks more than lawyers and FBI agents."

Ziva sighed as she put another file on the ever growing mound. "This is like looking for a pin in a straw-sack."

"It's needle in a haystack," McGee replied inattentively as he carried on with another pile. Ziva ignored McGee's correction, she was used to people correcting her now. Without looking Ziva reached into a box and pulled out a file. She opened it up and frowned.

"McGee?" she called. He looked up. "I think I have something."

McGee's left leg clicked as he stood up from his awkward position. He stumbled over to Ziva and sat back down. She handed him the file.

"That's her, that's Lucy West," McGee spoke excitedly. _Finally a breakthrough. _

Ziva shook her head. "Nope, that's Jessica Guest."

Gibbs paced the large room impatiently. He hated to wait and he hated for people he had made appointments with to be late. He eyed up the room appreciatively. It seemed like it was the warmest room in the hospital. The psychiatrist's study looked like it had come straight out of an English stately home with a large stone fireplace and green leather sofa. Old books lined the bookshelves and red velvet curtains hung at the windows. He smiled at the large framed portrait of Freud that sat on the far wall. He spun round as the door opened and an older woman rushed into the room.

"So sorry, Agent Gibbs," the woman apologised, "there was an emergency on ward five."

The woman looked at least sixty and her long grey hair was pulled up into a messy bun. She clutched a file to her chest and pushed her glasses back up her nose. She held out a hand. "Dr Philips."

Gibbs took her hand and shook it.

"Have you been waiting long?"

Gibbs quickly understood why the room looked so English. He ignored her question and asked his own. "What part of England are you from?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Hertfordshire, why do you ask?"

"Our ME is English, born in Cambridgeshire, schooled in Edinburgh."

"Sounds like you're talking about dear old Ducky." It was Gibb's turn to raise an eyebrow. She smiled warmly. "I doubt there is a Doctor in this state that Ducky doesn't know."

Gibbs smiled back. "True."

Dr Philips walked round Gibbs and behind her desk. She placed the file on the top and looked back up at Gibbs. "So, what can I do for you?"

"Tell me everything you can about Kevin Wickman."

"Hmmm," she thought out loud. "You realise I wasn't here four years ago?"

"I know, not many people here were."

"Yes, staff turnover is high." Philips walked over to a filing cabinet and opened the top draw. After rummaging around she found what she was looking for and pulled it out. She flipped open the file. "Kevin Wickman, paranoid, occasionally delusional with schizophrenic tendencies. Not a nice combination; got worse, of course, over the years. The drugs help calm him but he's a lost cause. All we can really do it keep him locked up from hurting anyone else."

"He elbowed my agent in the face."

"I'm really not surprised, Agent Gibbs," she replied with a shake of her head.

"What can you tell me about his journal?"

"I wouldn't know much, he won't let me see it."

"Well he showed it to my agent."

"Really? Well that _is_ a surprise, to my knowledge he's never shown it to anyone, becomes quite aggressive if anyone goes near it."

"How'd you think my agent got elbowed Dr Philips?"

"Oh dear."

"Quite." Gibbs sat himself down on the leather sofa. "How do you think Kevin got hold of Lucy West in the first place? Wasn't he locked up?"

"Just remember that back then he wasn't a threat. Its says here in his file that he was given town privileges."

"What's that?"

"Some of the less dangerous prisoners are given the chance to go into Reedville town centre for a couple of hours, accompanied by nurses of course. I assume that's when it happened."

"Why would he kill?"

"I haven't a clue Agent Gibbs, maybe you should ask him that?"

"Oh believe me, we're trying."


	10. Chapter 10

sorry it's been so long - as usual i hope you like it and if you do please review. Thanks also to my beta.

* * *

"_God! I hate my Dad so much sometimes! I showed him my grades and he freaked. A C in Science is good! I don't think he'd be pleased even if I got an A. I can never do anything right for him. I get an A in art and he doesn't even notice it. I knew he would ground me for that D in maths. No TV, no phone calls and no shopping trip on Friday. I was so looking forward to it as well. No other kid at school has an overbearing dad like mine. He treats me more like one of his sailors than a daughter. I can't get dessert unless I've finished everything on my plate, no pocket money unless you can bounce a quarter off my bed, lights out at 10pm. 10PM? The girls in my class can stay up way later. I'm 16, I'm not a child, why can't he see that?"_

Tony flicked through the diary and found another entry to read.

"_I want to draw, I want to travel and just enjoy life, not get trapped on a ship in the middle of nowhere. My dad will never understand me. He thinks that I'm going to follow in his footsteps and join the navy. Yeah, maybe when hell freezes over. Every day is a new attempt to brainwash me. Join the navy and you can travel the world he says; join the navy and you'll have so many opportunities; it's your duty! There's no way I'm going to take orders from anybody. I'm a free spirit. I hate being paraded around at his navy gatherings like I'm some sort of prize. "My girl's going places! She's going to follow in my footsteps and those of her grandfather." I have to listen to war stories, hear all those stupid acronyms that I don't understand and have them laugh and joke like they're in some special club. It's not a club. It's the Navy, it's war and fighting and killing. It's about going down with your precious ship."_

Finally Tony turned to the last entry in the book.

"_Today's my 18th birthday. 18! I can't believe how fast it all went. Mom and Dad took me sailing today. Just us, the boat and a picnic. I might hate those big battleships but there's something so free about a wooden ship with sails and rope. You don't have anyone to tell you where to go, no huge guns with people to tell you where to point them. It was the best birthday ever!_

_Dad gave me the most beautiful pendant. It has the brightest blue stone set into silver. I will never ever take it off. I know me and my dad don't always get along but I know he'll always be there for me. He's been so proud of me that I can't bear to tell him how the navy isn't for me. I just don't want to disappoint him."_

Tony closed the diary with a sigh. He needed to find Lucy West, any way he could.

"Kevin, what are you doing in here?" Tony asked as he entered the art room. He'd already searched all the other rooms on the ward for Kevin with no luck. He didn't understand how Kevin had managed to escape the ward. Patients from that ward weren't allowed out of it without supervision. He sat by the window hunched over a table furiously scribbling in his precious journal, his long hair hiding his face. Tony walked up to Kevin and sat down at a table next to him.

"Drawing huh?" Kevin didn't answer. "I'm not much of an artist myself, never really had the patience." Tony sighed when he realised Kevin wasn't going to answer him. It was as if Kevin didn't even know Tony was there. "Well, I've been looking everywhere for you. I know you don't like a lot of questions but I have some stuff I want to ask you." Tony spoke softly as if talking to a child.

"Shhh, quiet," Kevin finally spoke.

"Those pictures you've drawn of Lucy," Tony carried on in a whisper, "when did you meet her?"

"Can't meet drawings."

"The real Lucy."

"Killed her."

"Do you remember killing her?" Kevin shook his head. "Do you remember anything about her?"

"Lucy."

Tony sighed; it was like talking to a brick wall. He slid a photo from his pocket and placed it in front of Kevin. Kevin's eyes flicked to the photo. Tony had found the photo slipped in-between the pages of Lucy's diary. Lucy sat alone in what looked like her bedroom, her eyes cold and sad as if she was trapped. Tony didn't know who had taken the photo but he knew why she had hidden it.

"You know me and Lucy had a lot in common, Kevin. We both had fathers who never really understood us, never really living up to the high expectations set. Fathers who had our lives mapped out for us and who didn't really see how unhappy we were living a lie. They don't understand that there is more to life than a 9-5 corporate job…or the navy. Do you know what it's like to see disappointment in the eyes of your own father? She hid this photo. Never wanting to burden her parents, never wanting them to find out the truth. I don't think she ever got a chance to tell them how she really felt. The same way her parents never got to say goodbye properly. Help me restore some peace to a broken family, Kevin. Tell me what you remember about her?"

"Killed her."

Tony, losing his patience, dragged his chair closer to Kevin. "Where did you kill her, Kevin?" Kevin shook his head. "Where's Lucy?"

"Black." Tony watched as Kevin picked up a black crayon and filled a whole page of his journal black. "Drip drip drip, shhh, quiet."

_Either a brick wall or a broken record_, Tony thought. "Why don't you show me where you killed her, Kevin, it can be our little secret."

"It's too dark to see, you have to watch where you go."

Tony shook his head. "It's not dark in here."

"You have to watch out."

"Watch out for what?" Kevin didn't reply. "Come on, Kevin!" Tony snapped.

Kevin's head snapped up. "Don't say my name like that!" he shouted back. "I try to tell you and I tell you what you want to know but you just don't listen!"

"I'm trying!"

"No you're not!"

"Tell me where you put Lucy's body!"

Kevin shook his head. "I told you." Kevin's voice deepened, something calm, yet sinister, emanating off him.

"Told me what!"

"I told you to watch out."

"Watch out for what?"

"For me," a third voice spoke before Tony felt a sharp pain and then darkness.


	11. Chapter 11

sorry it's been so long since the last post - i was on my hols in sunny Scotland! Hope this chapter makes upfor the delay.

* * *

"Gibbs." Gibbs answered his phone with his usual brusque greeting. He'd just finished talking with Dr Philips and was on his way to find Tony to tell him what he had found out.

"Boss, it's me," McGee replied.

"What do you have for me?"

"Tony was right, Lucy West was here four years ago."

"And?" Gibbs asked impatiently.

"She admitted herself under the name Jessica Guest. She was having problems with depression and, by the looks of it, had suicidal thoughts."

"How long between the time she arrived and the time she went missing?" McGee checked the file in his hand. "Well?" Gibbs asked impatiently.

"Around two weeks."

"Okay, show the file to the staff that were here four years ago, see if they remember anything."

"Sure, Boss." Gibbs hung up and slipped the cell phone back into his pocket. He turned the corner and went down a flight of stairs. He was let into the secure ward and instantly scanned the main room for Tony. He then checked Tony's bedroom with no luck. Finally he tried the nurse's station where one young nurse sat.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for my agent, Tony DiNozzo."

The nurse looked up and smiled sweetly. "I saw him head to the music room about half an hour ago."

"Thanks." Gibbs turned on the spot and left the ward the way he came. Down at the other end of the hall was the music room. He opened the door slowly, his gut screaming at him to be careful. He frowned at the emptiness of the room. There was nowhere else that Tony could be. Gibbs walked further into the room and observed his surroundings with his trained investigator eyes. Over by the window, two chairs had been pushed closer together. He walked over to them and crouched down. His eyes immediately caught sight of a square of white laying under a table. He reached for it and turned it over, recognising it as the photo that had sat inside Lucy's diary. It wasn't the photo that had caught his attention, it was the drops of blood that smeared the photo.

* * *

Tony woke to the maddening drip drip drip of a loose pipe hanging over him. He scrunched up his eyes and shook his head as he tried to clear the cobwebs. His head hurt like hell and he could feel blood on his forehead. He opened his eyes slowly and took in his surroundings. The small dark room was unfamiliar. Rusty pipes and slick damp walls suggested some kind of basement room. He looked down and squinted in the darkness; he could just about make out the rope binding his ankles together and he could feel the same rope against his wrists.

He leant against his elbows and pushed himself up awkwardly into a sitting position, leaning heavily against one wall. He shivered. Freezing water had begun seeping into his clothes and what dry clothes he still had didn't protect him from the room's cool draught. He pulled at the rope around his wrists but it only tightened the bindings. He winced as the taut rope burnt his skin.

"Hello?" he croaked out. He coughed, cleared his throat and tried again. "Hello?" Only the dripping sound and a slight ominous creak answered him. "Hello?" he shouted louder, his voice echoing in the small room. "Is anyone there?" The door to the room swung open and crashed against the wall.

"Don't bother screaming for help," the silhouette spoke calmly. "No-one can hear you down here."

"Who are you?" Tony asked, still unable to see who had knocked him out and tied him up.

"You don't remember me?" the figure asked, as if hurt by the question.

"If I did would I be asking?"

The figure laughed. "It doesn't matter who I am, it has always mattered who you are."

Tony smirked. "Well, I know who I am."

"And so do I, which is why I have to do this."

"Do what?"

"You got too close, Tony, you know too much."

"Trust me when I tell you I don't know anything."

"That's far from true, Tony." The way the figure said his name sent a shiver down Tony's spine.

"I thought I was in the clear, everything went according to plan and I was free. But then _you_ arrived, ruining everything."

"Well I do have a habit of shaking things up a little bit."

"So I have noticed."

"So what? You bring me down here and threaten me into staying quiet?"

"Don't be silly, Tony, I don't plan to do anything like that." The figure stepped into the room, the light from the corridor outside illuminating their face. Tony's eyes widened as he saw the person face to face. "I plan to kill you."


	12. Chapter 12

Gibbs slipped the photos into a spare evidence bag and slipped it into his pocket. He flipped open his phone and dialled McGee's number.

"McGee, I need you and Ziva up here now." He didn't wait for an answer before hanging up and exiting the room. He headed straight for Hiskett's office on the floor below and barged in the room without knocking. Her head shot up at the disturbance and she frowned heavily at the intruder.

"Special Agent Gibbs, I have given you plenty of leeway since this silliness began but I draw the line at you barging into my office."

"Well I'm sorry, Miss Hiskett," Gibbs spoke, sounding anything but sincere, "but I have reason to believe my agent has gone missing, possibly taken against his will."

Miss Hiskett raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

Gibbs pulled the evidence bag from his pocket and threw it onto the desk in front of him. Miss Hiskett picked it up and examined it.

"I gave that to him."

"He could have dropped it."

"It has blood on it."

Miss Hiskett shrugged. "Paper cut."

Gibbs slammed his hands down on the desk and leaned over heavily. "My agent is missing and I will turn this place upside down until I find him, whether or not you decide to help me," he said with his most threatening voice.

"I'll begin a full search, ward by ward," she spoke, her voice wavering in fear.

Gibbs pushed himself off the desk. "Good choice." He snatched the evidence bag off Miss Hiskett and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

"Boss," a voice called from behind him. Gibbs spun and came face to face with McGee and Ziva. "What's going on?" McGee asked. Gibbs handed the evidence bag over.

"Tony's missing."

McGee knew not to question Gibbs on matters such as this. His gut instincts were stronger than the coffee he drank.

"Miss Hiskett's organising a hospital-wide search. I want you two to oversee it. Check every cupboard and under every bed; I want the hospital grounds searched from top to bottom, get dogs out here if you need to; leave no stone unturned and don't stop until you've found him."

McGee nodded. "Understood." He immediately got his cell phone out of his pocket and began organising sniffer dogs and back up agents.

Ziva turned to Gibbs. "We'll find him."

"Not if we stand around here we won't," he replied curtly. "I don't want to see either of you unless Tony's with you," he added before walking off.

Gibbs sighed heavily. He knew this idea of Tony's was a bad one. Ever since he'd suggested someone go undercover, Gibbs had had a bad feeling. He should have kept a better eye on Tony; he should have pulled him out of there. Gibbs fished into his pocket for his phone and pressed three on the speed dial.

"Abby 'the best forensic scientist in the whole wide world' Sciuto, how may I help you?" Abby answered in her usual oddball, chirpy way.

"Did you stick a transmitter on Tony?" Gibbs asked.

"Why? Did Tony tell you I did?" Abby replied.

"This isn't a time for games, Abs, did you or did you not place a transmitter on Tony?"

"Geez! Yes, okay? It was just plan B Gibbs, Tony didn't even want to have one but I persuaded him, please don't blame him, it was my idea-"

"Trace him."

"What?"

"Are you going deaf from that music you listen to? Trace Tony!"

"Is Tony in trouble?" Abby asked, recognising Gibbs' crabbiness as worry. She pushed her chair away from the evidence table and towards the computer desk. Her fingers flew over the keys expertly. The answer to her question was confirmed when Gibbs didn't answer her.

"Just find him," he spoke.

The computer beeped and Abby bit her lip. "I can't get a fix."

"Why not?"

"Who knows, Gibbs. He could have gotten the transmitter wet; it could be damaged; he could be too far away to trace; he could be somewhere the signal doesn't penetrate; any number of reasons."

"Dammit."

"I'm sorry, Gibbs."

Gibbs calmed instantly at Abby's guilty voice. "It's not your fault, Abs."

"You'll find him, Gibbs," Abby managed to get in before Gibbs hung up the phone.


	13. Chapter 13

I promise that i'll get to Tony in the next chapter, just had to get this out of the way first! lol

* * *

Gibbs hunched over a large blueprint of the hospital, retrieved by McGee from the dusty storage room. Areas had already been marked off with a red cross and others still lay blank. Gibbs had set up a command centre in the art room where he had found the bloodied photo. People bustled around him on telephones and radios, communicating anyway they could. Gibbs himself had a headset on, listening to any chatter between McGee and Ziva.

"Ward eight is clear," he heard and he instantly crossed off ward five. Gibbs was getting anxious. There wasn't much left of the hospital to search and so far there had been no sign of him. He couldn't understand how Tony had gone missing in a hospital always busy with people, crammed with security cameras and enclosed in a seven foot high fence. Abby had already sifted through the security footage with no luck.

"Ward nine is clear." Gibbs cursed under his breath. There was only one more ward to search and Gibbs' gut was telling him Tony wasn't hidden away there. He waited those few minutes until he heard ward seven was clear before speaking.

"Search them all again," he shouted down the line.

"But, Boss," McGee replied, "we've searched every room top to bottom."

"Search them again, McGee! And this time keep a look out for Kevin Wickson, he's missing also."

"You're guessing wherever Kevin is, Tony won't be far behind?" McGee asked.

"You tell me, McGee," Gibbs replied before ripping off the headset and throwing it down on the table. He leant hard against the table and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and counted to ten. His peace was disrupted by the shrill of his cell phone. He let out a sigh and dug into his pocket for the annoying article.

"Gibbs," he barked

"It's Shepard," Jenny spoke softly. "How's it going?"

"How's it going?" Gibbs asked incredulously. "My lead agent is missing, we found his blood on some evidence, which means he's injured, and the man that killed Lucy West is also conveniently AWOL"

"It was just a question, Jethro."

"Well I don't have time for questions."

"Do you have time to talk to Mary West?" Gibbs frowned but stayed silent. "She's sitting outside my office wondering what the heck is going on." Gibbs cursed again. In all the chaos he had forgotten about Mary West. He had promised that he would stay in contact with her.

"What have you told her?"

"Not much, but then you haven't told me much."

"I've been busy, Jenn."

"Look Jethro, I know you've got other things on your mind, but don't forget why you're at that hospital in the first place." Jenn didn't give Gibbs time to reply. Gibbs snapped the phone shut and threw it on the table with everything else. He heard footsteps behind him.

"What is it, McGee?" McGee raised his eyebrows, wondering how Gibbs knew it was him. "Well?" Gibbs turned around slowly, making McGee even more nervous than he already was.

"I uh, well the thing is, we've searched everywhere, and he's not here, Boss." Gibbs growled, the last of his patience dissipating. He slammed his palm into the nearest bookshelf with all his strength. McGee jumped, too shocked to notice Gibbs furrowed eyebrows and silent questioning. Gibbs slammed his fist in the bookshelf again. He felt the bookshelf, searching it for the answers to his questions.

"What is it?" Ziva's voice asked from behind McGee. McGee hadn't even heard her come in. He would never learn how Ziva and Gibbs could sneak up on people like that.

"There's something behind this bookshelf, it's hollow." Gibbs crouched down, ignoring the click of his bones as they protested. He felt the bottom of the shelf, his fingers travelling along smooth wood. His fingers soon came into contact with something wet. He lifted his fingers up and studied them.

"What's that?"

Gibbs turned to his team. "It's blood."

"Tony's?" McGee asked, fear evident on his face.

"Don't worry, McGee. The amount of blood we've found isn't a lethal amount to lose."

"But it could be from a head injury and head injuries are bad; Tony could have a really bad concussion and it could be so bad that he falls asleep and never wakes up." Gibbs could see the young agent begin to panic. Gibbs stood up and walked over to the probie. He put a hand on each shoulder and looked McGee straight in the eyes.

"We will find him, McGee. My gut says he's still alive; I bet he's probably wondering what's taking us so long, so what do you say about helping me find out what's behind that bookshelf?" McGee nodded. "Good."

Gibbs pulled a knife from his pocket. He walked back to the bookshelf and inserted the knife at the edge. A thin slot appeared. McGee joined Gibbs, helping him to pull the bookshelf away from the wall. Once it was out of the way the trio peered into the darkness. They could just about make out a set of stairs that descended into pitch black. Exposed brick walls looked older than most of the hospital, the stench of damp and rust could be smelt wafting up the stairs and in the distance the steady rhythm of a pipe dripping could be heard.

"Find some torches," Gibbs ordered. "We're going down there."


	14. Chapter 14

So this is the chapter you've been waiting for! hope you like it. We;; done to all who caught the mistkae last chapter - yes i'm English and although i know most language changes like mobile phones- cell phones and lifts- elevators i miss torches- flashlights! i'll remember that for next time!

* * *

"So what? You bring me down here and threaten me into staying quiet?" 

"Don't be silly, Tony, I don't plan to do anything like that." As the figure stepped into the room, the light from the corridor outside illuminated their face. Tony's eyes widened as he saw the person face to face. "I plan to kill you."

"You!" Tony sneered, completely unfazed by the threat. It definitely wasn't the first and he hoped it wouldn't be the last.

"Yes, me," the figure answered coolly as she walked further into the room. Now Tony could see who it was. He should have known it was her the first time they met. He always fell for the crazies. Nurse Windsor placed a leather briefcase on the floor in front of Tony and opened it with a click.

"I don't understand. What do you have to do with Lucy West and Kevin Wickson?" Nurse Windsor's head snapped upwards and she glared at Tony.

"I have everything to do with Lucy West and Kevin Wickson!" she roared. She calmed immediately, pulling a syringe from the briefcase. It was already filled with some kind of liquid.

"But Kevin killed Lucy."

Nurse Windsor laughed. "Yes, that's what he says."

Tony frowned. "It was _you_!" Tony accused. "You killed Lucy." His attacker nodded. "Why?"

"Why? Why! Did you see her? She came into this hospital looking like Miss Universe! All the patients loved her - sweet beautiful Lucy! The women wanted to be her, the men just wanted her, she was their queen," she spat with disdain.

"So?"

"_I'm_ supposed to be the queen! _I'm_ supposed to be admired and loved! Don't you think I'm beautiful?"

"Sorry, I'm not attracted to murderers."

Nurse Windsor slapped him across the face and his head snapped to the right. "Don't think I didn't see the way you looked at me!"

Tony cringed, remembering the way his eyes had travelled down her body, the low whistle as he had stared at her legs.

"The same way they looked at her. The minute she stepped into the hospital and signed herself under a fake name."

Tony raised an eyebrow. He didn't know anything about a fake name, but then again it would explain how Lucy had checked herself in and why Gibbs didn't know about it when he investigated her disappearance four years ago. "You didn't know?" she asked, catching his surprised look. "I expected a federal agent like you would do their homework before coming here and disrupting _my_ hospital." She laughed. "I checked into her background, I knew exactly who she was. Some spoilt Captain's daughter."

"His name is Captain Neil West, his wife is Mary West. Neil West is dying. His only wish is to see his daughter buried."

Nurse Windsor stepped back and pointed to something in the corner. "He won't be getting his wish anytime soon, no-one knows you're here. Looks like you and her are going to be spending a lot of time together."

Tony squinted, searching in the darkness. His eyes widened as he saw a skeleton, lying against the back wall. A single chain hung around its neck, the pendant laying against the floor. Tony closed his eyes.

"You killed her because she was prettier than you?" Tony asked quietly, not wanting to enrage his attacker anymore than he already had. He opened his eyes and stared sadly into the eyes of his assailant.

"She deserved what she got."

Tony shook his head. "No, but you deserve to be locked up with the rest of the loonies in this place." Tony felt the sting as she slapped him again. Tony spat out blood this time.

"So how'd you do it?" Tony asked. "Hit her over the head? Tie her up down here? And then what?"

"You'll see." Nurse Windsor went back and picked up the syringe. She flicked it with her fake red nails to push out any air bubbles exactly as she had done when she had sedated him. His mind flashbacked to that moment of terror, of being held down against that table as he screamed out. That seemed like a lifetime ago.

"What's in that thing?" Tony asked suspiciously, eyeing the syringe with trepidation.

"Oh, just something to help you relax," she told him.

Something in her voice made Tony shiver. She walked over to Tony and stood over him. He tried to struggle, to stop her from getting the needle in, but it didn't help. Nurse Windsor grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked his head to one side. She then jabbed the needle straight into his neck and pushed down. Tony grunted at the pain, scrunching his eyes shut as he felt the liquid enter his body. A minute later, Tony didn't have the energy to struggle. He lay limp against the damp wall. She smiled in satisfaction and then pulled a sharp knife from the briefcase. She stalked towards Tony and trailed it down his face gently.

"Can you feel that?" she asked, knowing he couldn't answer. "How about this?" she asked again, this time slicing through the skin on his arm. He managed a grunt. "Stabbing you now would just be too easy and quick."

She took the knife to the rope holding his hands together and cut it up. His hands dropped to his sides like lead weights. She then moved to his legs and cut the rope holding his feet together.

"This will keep you from trying to escape." She closed the briefcase and held it tightly in one hand. "And just so you know, when this is all over, I'll have Kevin admit to your murder too. He's such a sweet boy, he'd do _anything_ for me." She turned back to Tony and crouched by his side. "It was nice knowing you, Tony; if you hadn't gotten so close to the truth we could've hooked up." She leant over him and kissed his motionless lips. He cringed internally at the unwanted gesture. She turned her back to him and walked to the door.

"Oh, one more thing." She placed the briefcase down by her feet and turned to a metal wheel by the door. With both hands she turned the wheel around, spinning it until a roaring sound could be heard.

"Goodbye." She picked up the briefcase, stepped out of the room and slammed the door shut, locking it from the outside.

Tony heard the roaring sound getting louder and louder; whatever it was it was coming fast. For once Tony didn't believe Gibbs would find him in time and there was no way he could escape when all his limbs lay limp, feeling like they each weighed a ton. Tony wished he could scream but all that came out of his mouth was a weak grunt. He was surprised he was still able to breathe after the injection he had been given. Suddenly the roaring sound was in the room and from the corner of his eye Tony could see an open pipe spewing gallons of water into the room. He knew it wouldn't be long before the water was over his head and then it was goodnight DiNozzo.


	15. Chapter 15

so sorry for the long wait but i had a big case of writers block, everything's back to normal and I only have one more chapter to write! Thanks to my beta Rinne, hope you enjoy.

Gibbs lifted the flashlight and scanned the ceiling as they walked quietly through the underground tunnels. McGee was keeping the larger flashlight trained on the ground in case they missed a blood trail. Ziva was waving hers around, and like Gibbs, she kept one hand on her gun, ready for anything. They hadn't gone far but it was already too dark to see anything, the light from the flashlights doing little to illuminate the corridors. Only the sound of a dripping pipe in the distance and Gibbs' determination pushed them further into the darkness. The place felt like a maze. They had no idea if they were going in the right direction or even if they were going round in circles.

"Gibbs," Ziva whispered. "How do you even know where you're going?"

Gibbs stopped and turned to the mossad agent. He stepped into her personal space and said two words, "My gut."

His gut had yet to fail them and Ziva wasn't sure how his gut actually worked. She had asked Abby once and had only received a very cryptic answer that Ziva took to mean that Abby had absolutely no idea.

"Which way now, Boss?" McGee asked. Gibbs tore his eyes away from Ziva and turned to look at what McGee was pointing at with his flashlight. The corridor split into six corridors all leading into black holes. Gibbs walked past each entrance, shining his flashlight into each of them.

"This way," he spoke, pointing down the last corridor.

"How do you know Tony's down that one?" Ziva questioned.

Gibbs gave his team a look and shined his flashlight on the wall, illuminating a chalked arrow pointing in the same direction.

"Guess we're not the only ones who get lost," McGee spoke.

"We weren't lost, McGee," Gibbs barked.

_That's right,_ McGee thought, _Gibbs never gets lost. _He smiled to himself, glad that Gibbs couldn't see his smirk in the dark.

"Stop smirking, McGee!" McGee's smile faded almost instantly. His eyes widened at being caught out, but he said nothing. Gibbs turned his back and pulled his weapon. They were close now; he could feel it. He crossed his hands over, holding the gun and flashlight steady. Ziva and McGee obediently followed Gibbs down the corridor, their flashlights still watching out for any blood or any more chalk arrows and their guns now drawn.

Forty yards down the corridor Gibbs stopped suddenly, causing McGee to go crashing into his back.

"What is-" Ziva began. Gibbs held up a hand to hush her.

"You hear that?" Gibbs whispered. Ziva scrunched up her eyes and listened intently.

"Sounds like…crying?" she whispered back.

Gibbs nodded. They sped up, their guns still out in front of them. The crying got louder as they neared the next intersection. It wasn't long before they were right on top of it. Their flashlights sought out the sound, quickly finding a figure hunched over on the wet ground, his hospital pajamas covered in grime and blood.

"Kevin?" Gibbs asked. He recognised the man from the many interrogations he had participated in all those years ago. "Kevin Wickman?"

Kevin looked up at the team, his eyes bloodshot. It was obvious he was suffering from not being given his daily dose of antipsychotic drugs. "Kevin, where's Tony?"

Kevin flinched. "Tony was my friend," he spoke quietly.

"What do you mean _was_?" Ziva demanded, stepping forward, ready to beat it out of Kevin, but Gibbs put his arm out to stop her.

"We need him alive, Ziva," Gibbs spoke, ignoring Ziva's eye-roll. He turned back to Kevin. "Kevin, can you tell me where Tony is?" Before Kevin could answer a sound from their left startled them. Their guns and flashlights snapped up, the light revealing Nurse Windsor. "You!" Gibbs growled. "What the hell are you doing down here?" Nurse Windsor stepped further into the light, holding her hands up in the air.

"I saw Kevin come down here, so I followed him." She spoke calmly, even though there were three loaded guns in her face.

"Why?" Gibbs questioned, something in Gibbs was beginning to think that Nurse Windsor couldn't be trusted.

"He got lost down here once before," she explained. "I wanted to make sure it didn't happen again."

"My agent is down here somewhere."

"Why would he come down here?"

"Well, I don't think he came down voluntarily."

"What are you suggesting, Agent Gibbs?"

"Where is Tony?" he asked again. Behind him he could hear Kevin muttering Tony's name over and over again.

"I haven't seen him, Agent Gibbs, but if I do, I'll tell him you're looking for him. Now may I please escort Kevin back upstairs?" Kevin's mutterings grew louder.

"Not until I find my agent," Gibbs spoke through gritted teeth.

Nurse Windsor laughed. "These tunnels stretch across the whole of the hospital and its grounds; we'll be down here a while."

"However long it takes, Nurse Windsor," Gibbs replied. Her smiled faded when she realised he was serious.

"Tony was my friend!" Kevin shouted, silencing both Gibbs and Nurse Windsor. He lifted himself off of the ground and stared at Nurse Windsor. "Not this time." He shook his head violently. "Not this time," he repeated. "Lucy was my friend."

"Where is he Kevin?" Gibbs asked.

"You did this!" Kevin shouted, pointing at Nurse Windsor.

"Don't be silly, Kevin, you know I'm only here to help you," she spoke softly.

"No!" Kevin screamed. "Not this time!" Before anyone could react, Kevin charged forward and tackled Nurse Windsor to the ground. He grabbed her coat, lifting her body off the ground, before slamming it back down onto the concrete. He pulled her up again and slammed her back down one more time before Gibbs and McGee pulled him off her. Ziva crouched at Nurse Windsor's side and placed two fingers at her neck to check for a pulse. She shook her head at Gibbs and McGee. There was blood everywhere, her head had made contact with the hard ground and had split open. She never had a chance.

Kevin struggled against Gibbs and McGee, trying to get back to do more damage to Nurse Windsor.

"It's over!" Gibbs shouted, hoping Kevin would hear him over his screams. "It's over Kevin; she's dead!" He slowly calmed down, his screams turned to cries as tears rolled down his cheeks. With no more energy left, Kevin collapsed onto the floor.

"McGee, Ziva, sort this mess out," he ordered.

"Where are you going, Boss?"

"After Tony!" Gibbs shouted back as he ran down the corridor Nurse Windsor had appeared from.


	16. Chapter 16

This is the penultimate chapter! hope you enjoy :)

Tony watched the freezing water rise around him. If he had the energy he'd be panicking right about now. Out of all the ways he could die, drowning was at the bottom of the list along with being buried alive and being eaten by sharks. He'd always been hopeful, thinking he would die of old age, whilst the more reasonable side of Tony thought he'd end up dying like Kate. A bullet. To be gunned down while defending his country.

The water was up to his shoulders now. Tony could see blood from the wound on his arm seeping into the water and he began to shiver. He scrunched his eyes shut and tried to forget about the wound, the ice cold water rising around him and the fact that he couldn't move.

Tony knew it wouldn't be long before the little air that was getting into his lungs would stop when the water rose above his head and with every second the water rose, his hope of being found alive faded.

Gibbs rushed down the dark corridor without a care for his own safety. The crying grew quieter the further away he got and a new unrecognisable sound grew louder. The way Kevin had spoken, Gibbs knew Tony didn't have much time_, if he had any at all, _something deep inside him thought. He shook those dark thoughts away and kept running. He threw his flashlight to one side as he turned into a corridor with simple lights strung along the length of the corridor. He blinked as his eyes got used to the bright light. Something was telling him he was very close.

"DiNozzo!" he shouted, his bellowing voice echoing. He waited silently for a reply but received none. "DiNozzo!" he tried again. As he walked down the corridor the loud rushing sound grew even louder. "Come on Tony, where are you?" he muttered to himself.

McGee and Ziva watched Gibbs' figure disappear down the dark corridor before turning back to the task at hand, even though their minds were still on Tony. McGee looked down at the figure crying on the floor whilst Ziva turned and stared at the body of Nurse Windsor, her eyes staring up vacantly.

"This is going to take a while," Ziva said with a sigh.

"Let's hope Gibbs finds Tony before we finish tidying this up," McGee replied. He sifted into his coat pocket and retrieved his cell phone. He flipped it open and frowned. "I've got no signal; you?" He watched as Ziva checked her own cell phone.

She shook her head. "No bras, I mean bars," she corrected herself quickly, remembering her and Tony's time together in a shipping container.

"What should we do then?" McGee asked. Should they take Kevin back upstairs and leave the body or does one of them take Kevin back and one stay with the body. McGee didn't even know whether he could find the way back on his own.

"I'll go back and bring back help; Kevin is obviously not in a fit state to make it back and we'll need Ducky down here for her," Ziva decided. "Will you be okay on your own?"

"Sure, I'll just wait here with the crazy guy and the dead body in the dark, no biggie." Ziva scrunched up her eyes. "Yeah," McGee spoke at seeing Ziva's look, "that was me being sarcastic."

"You've been spending too much time with Tony." At the mention of his name the two agents fell silent. "I'll stay if you want," Ziva said a minute later.

McGee shook his head. "No, it's okay, I'll be fine." He didn't want to tell Ziva he really had no idea where he was. She nodded.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Ziva reassured the young agent before disappearing down another corridor.

McGee looked down at Kevin and sighed. "Looks like it's just you and me."

Tony struggled to breathe now the water was rising up his neck. He didn't have long now. He was about to let the water just take him when he heard something over the roar of the water. Someone was calling his name and, if he wasn't mistaken, it sounded a lot like Gibbs. If only he could shout back. He took one last big breath as the water rose above his mouth and nose and hoped that Gibbs found him before his air ran out.

To Gibbs it felt as though the corridor was never ending. He ran as fast as he could, but there still seemed like there was miles to go. Even though it felt like hours it was only seconds, as Gibbs found himself outside a door, water pouring out the small slit under the door. The roaring sound nearly deafened him. He wasted no time in sliding the bolt across and opening the door. Water poured out in a gigantic wave, pushing Gibbs to the ground and then pulling him along with the current. He grabbed onto the nearest pipe and held tightly. Once the water had dissipated, he stood up and made his way back to the room.

Tony opened his mouth and took in as much air as his weak lungs would take. The pressure from the water was gone and he opened his eyes. The water was flooding out the door. Gibbs had found him in time. If his limbs were working Tony would be dancing right about now, celebrating another near miss. A second later Gibbs appeared at the door, soaking wet. He turned first to the open pipe, closing it tightly. Once the water had stopped he turned to Tony, crouching down by his side.

"Dr..dr," Tony tried to speak, annoyed at his tongue and voice box for not co-operating. In a silent whisper he mouthed _drugged._

"You were drugged?" Gibbs asked. Tony blinked once for yes.

"_Lucy,"_ he mouthed again, this time using his eyes to point to the far corner where Lucy West's body lay. Gibbs turned to the far corner and spotted the skeleton.

"You found her, DiNozzo." He turned back. "I knew you would."

"_Nurse?_"

"Dead, Kevin killed her." Tony closed his eyes, feeling relieved now that it was all over. He felt Gibbs place a hand on his shoulder. "Stay awake, Tony," Gibbs spoke, wary of the gash on Tony's forehead. "Help will be here soon."


	17. Chapter 17

Finally! The last chapter! I really, really hope you enjoyed the story as much as i enjoyed writing it and i thank you all for all your wonderfull reviews. I don't really have any major stories planned but i'll write them as soon as i do! Thanks also to Rinne for betaing. (I'm am really sorry if this last chapter is really soppy, i was in a soppy mood when i wrote it - i also have to say that even though it might sound like it - this story is not slash)

"Go Fish."

Tony frowned. He recognised that voice from somewhere.

"Have you got any twos?" the same voice asked.

"Go Fish," a second familiar voice replied. As Tony slowly woke he felt movement at the end of his bed. _Were Abby and McGee using the end of his bed as a table? _As the fog cleared, Tony remembered the events of the past couple of days and smelt something hinky, telling him he was in a hospital.

"Have you got a-"

Tony moaned, catching the attention of his friends.

"Tony?" Abby called as she threw down her cards and wheeled her chair to the head of the bed. She slid her hand inside his and squeezed. "You with us?"

Tony licked his lips and swallowed before speaking. "Who's winning?" Abby smiled widely.

"Who do ya think?" she spoke. Tony opened his eyes slowly and smiled gently.

"How long was I out?" he asked, taking stock of his injuries. The headache he was experiencing reminded him about being hit over the head, looking down he also saw a large bandage covering the length of his left arm. He remembered vividly the pain as Nurse Windsor had sliced the knife through his arm like butter. He was also lying underneath a heated blanket. The cold water must have done some damage.

"'Bout a day, the doctors sedated you while the other drug wore off," McGee answered as he tidied up the playing cards.

Tony scanned the room before asking his next question. "Where's Gibbs?"

"Coffee break," McGee and Abby answered simultaneously.

Tony laughed huskily. "Should have known."

"Should have known what, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked from the doorway, his coffee sitting in one hand.

"Nothing, Boss."

Gibbs walked into the room and sat in the spare chair by Tony's bed. "You look like hell."

"I feel like it too, I don't remember much after the water went over my head."

"Gibbs saved the day!" Abby told him, still smiling.

"What happened to the wicked witch of the east ward?" Tony asked.

"Kevin killed her; she'd been seducing him into doing her bidding for years, he finally cracked," Gibbs explained.

"What's going to happen to Kevin?" Tony asked Gibbs with a concerned look on his face. Kevin had been on the secure ward all this time when he'd never even killed Lucy West.

"He'll be re-evaluated and then probably be given extra therapy to undo what Nurse Windsor did to him." Tony closed his eyes. It was obvious that he was in pain. "Abs, McGee, go get a doctor, preferably Ducky," Gibbs ordered and the pair left obediently.

"You gave us quiet a scare, DiNozzo."

"Sorry."

"You did good, Tony."

Tony opened his eyes, meeting Gibbs' eyes, checking to see if Gibbs was joking. "Thanks, Boss, that means a lot."

Gibbs nodded. "The West's are finally able to give Lucy a proper funeral thanks to you."

"I want to go… to the funeral."

"I planned on going anyway," Gibbs replied.

"So, when can I get the hell out of here?" Tony asked.

"Oh, they'll want to keep you over night my dear boy," Ducky answered as he walked in the door, Abby and McGee trailing behind him. "Maybe longer," Ducky added as he increased Tony's pain medication for him.

"Aww, come on Ducky, I'm gonna be so bored stuck here!" Tony whined as the pain medication started to take effect.

"How about a game of Go Fish?" Abby asked with a smile.

Tony and Gibbs stood at the back of the church during the funeral and then had stood behind everyone at the grave. They almost felt like gatecrashers. They hadn't known Lucy, they'd never even met her, but the small smile Mary West had sent their way had told them they belonged there.

Tony hadn't been out of the hospital long and his arm was up in a sling, to prevent Tony pulling out all the stitches. Abby had even managed to fashion a sling that matched his suit. They watched behind dark sunglasses as Lucy's body was lowered into the ground and fresh tears from an old tragedy fell down faces.

The cluster of mourners slowly dissipated, leaving only Lucy's parents and Tony and Gibbs. Mary West bent down over Neil West's wheelchair and tucked his blanket in, protecting him from the chill in the air. He spoke to her, but neither Tony nor Gibbs could work out what he had said. She stood up straight and pushed his chair towards Tony.

"He'd like to speak to you."

Tony nodded. Mary pushed Neil's chair towards the nearest bench before walking away. Tony sat down on the bench, unsure what to say to the man. He looked up and met Gibbs' eyes. Gibbs nodded firmly before walking back to the church. He turned back to the frail man.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"I lost her a long time ago, Agent DiNozzo," Neil West spoke. "I think I lost her when she was still alive."

"Why do you say that?" Tony asked.

"I provided for my daughter, Agent DiNozzo, I gave her a home to grow up in, all the piano lessons and ballet lessons she could ask for, I put food on the table and bought her the best bike for her to ride down the street, better than all the other kid's bikes."

"Lucy was a lucky daughter."

"I was away at sea most of the time, never really saw her grow up. I never understood my own daughter." He shook his head. "I was pushing her into the Navy and she just pushed straight back. The last time I saw her we fought, she told me she hated me." The hardened Navy Captain's face creased up and a tear rolled down his cheek.

"My father wasn't around much" Tony began "And when he was, he was more interested in who was getting his next drink. He had plans for me to follow in his footsteps, become a suit in an office. Drive expensive cars, live in a mansion somewhere, produce an heir to the family fortune. He disowned me when I told him I wanted to be in law enforcement. We barely talk now."

"You and Lucy had so much in common."

Tony shook his head. "Lucy had a father who loved her unconditionally. Sure, you weren't going to be happy with her career choice, but I can see you loved her so much that in the end it wouldn't have mattered to you if she'd become a Navy Captain or a waitress. I've been doing this year for over ten years and my father has yet to get over it. And she did love you, Sir; I read her diary, she loved you so much."

Another tear rolled down the man's cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Tony smiled.

"You would have gotten along well with Lucy, you have the same spark in your eyes. Both free spirits." Tony laughed. "You should phone that father of yours, Agent DiNozzo. Before it's too late and he's standing at your grave regretting the last words he said to you." Tony nodded. "There's something I want you to have." Neil West dipped his hand under the blanket and pulled something out. He opened his palm to reveal Lucy's pendant. "Agent Gibbs gave this to me but I'd like you to have it."

"I couldn't," Tony refused. "It belongs with you."

"You going to say no to a dying Naval Captain?" Neil asked. "If it weren't for you I wouldn't have been able to say goodbye to my daughter before I die. I owe you so much more than this pendant." Neil West pushed the pendant into Tony's hand and closed it tightly.

"Thank you."

Neil nodded. "You're welcome, now, how about you join us at the house for dinner. Agent Gibbs can come too."

"We'd be honoured." Tony waved Mary back over to them to wheel Neil away. As they began to leave Tony stopped them. "Sir?" Mary stopped the chair and spun it round. "When you see Lucy say hi for me."

Neil smiled. "Will do, son, will do."

Tony smiled back as Mary pushed Neil towards the car park.

"Come on," Gibbs' voice called from behind Tony, surprising him. Last time Tony had seen Gibbs he had been walking off towards the church. "We've been invited to dinner and I don't know about you, but I'm starving." Gibbs stepped towards Tony. "You ready?" Gibbs asked. Tony turned back to Lucy's grave and smiled as he felt the cool metal of the pendant in his hand.

"Yeah, I'm ready." The pair began the trek back to the car park. "I can't stay long though," Tony told Gibbs.

"Why not?"

Tony smiled before answering. "I've got a phone call to make."

THE END


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